The Justice of Legal Precepts

Exodus 21: 12-36

The Reformer's Fire
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Exposition by Max A Forsythe

Question 69:
What is forbidden in the sixth commandment?
Answer 69:
The sixth commandment forbiddeth the taking away of our own life, or the life of our neighbor unjustly, or whatsoever tendeth thereunto.

It was William Blackstone in his Commentaries on Law, who wrote in 1765 that:

"Upon these two foundations, the law of nature and the law of revelation, depend all human laws; that is to say, no human laws should be suffered to contradict these. There are, it is true, a great number of indifferent points, in which both the divine law and the natural leave a man at his own liberty; but which are found necessary for the benefit of society to be restrained within certain limits."

That great judge's observations upon the source of law, the principles inherent in the natural and revealed law, and the limits of law were read widely. Along with the King James Bible, and The Wealth of Nations his observations were appreciated and applied by those who crafted the greatest ongoing experiment in human history - the rule by law of a heterogeneous people gathered from the far ends of the earth into the fair land we call America.

The English Common Law which was learned and applied without hesitation into this century was modeled upon and extended from the principles of law found in the Old Covenant books of the Torah. The law begins with the Ten principles or commandments. Of course, these principles were nothing new when compared to God's ordering of humans those many centuries before the law was revealed specifically through Moses. We also see in the development of the Pentatuch or Torah, that Moses and the elders of Israel extended the ten principles into every application for ruling and judging a great and numerous people. Those principled extensions which showed the model for the common law became the national law of the Hebrew people. Certainly, some aspects of those national laws are recognized as just that.

And every national government that has used the principles of the Pentatuch have made slightly different cultural applications. We see here in the passage before us several Hebrew interpretations of the commandment against wanton killing. We sense in the first few verses that several developments are being made. Verse thirteen highlights what we would call an accidental death. Oh, the lawyers would have a field day with these verses as they could explain the various ins and outs of legal interpretation. In our studies in Criminal Justice, I have run across almost a dozen types of wrongful deaths. Still, today we do comprehend the deliberate evil of a planned killing.

In case you think nothing could be worse, there are two or three extreme cases of murder which are considered worse. These include multiple spree and serial killings. Jeffrey Dalmer's heinous crimes reported in the last few years would inform us here. And it is because of people like him and the Bundy, Son of Sam and so ons who brought American jurisprudence once again to a renewed legalization of execution. While the Dalmer creature escaped a legal sentence, the prisoners with whom he was sentenced had a greater sense of justice than the courts. Reportedly, people like him do not survive long amongst common thieves and murderers. It seems that "honest criminals" are appalled at being locked up with the extremist executioners.

Now, while we are considering the case for punishing murder here in this passage, you should know that there is another passage in the Old Covenant that does not allow a person to be executed except on the testimony of at least two witnesses!

We should also note, that Hebrew law allowed some limited applications of what we would call a blood feud - in that certain family members were allowed to take revenge upon the one who caused a wrongful death. Yet, if the one responsible were able to flee town and get to a city of refuge, they could live there under certain circumstances and even eventually earn their way back into an ordinary life.

In verse fifteen we see what should happen to any "poor orphans" who cause the death of their parents! Verse seventeen takes this familial relationship even further in the context of Hebrew law. As far as we are concerned, I would personally believe and apply this principle as saying that there should be no difference between juvenile and adult courts. Oh what a lot of mischief has been let loose in this country by not holding our younger criminals to account. I am personally aware of one young man in my area who committed as many crimes as he could while under age, so that his record would remain clean. When asked by another, what he would do after he turned eighteen, he said he would simply recruit younger people to commit his crimes for him! Oh how he hated to be "locked up" in school during the day, when there were so many people at work and away from those homes that he wanted to break into! One day, he brought a gun to school and that was enough to get him some time out of school and into a more secure place making his pre-penitentury training a little more realistic.

In verse sixteen we see that the Old Covenant elders applied the sixth commandment to kidnappers as well as murderers. Somehow, this particular verse was overlooked in its reference to slavery for many many centuries. Even the British Navy practiced a form of this violation, which lead to the war of 1812 with American land and naval forces.

Verse eighteen gets into rioting and the criminal violence of assault. Now, this is a difficult situation. A lot of things are called assault today that are not even close to being what we would call legitimate assault. I can remember when I was in high school thirty-some years ago. When two young men wanted to rumble, the principle would call them out of class, put some gloves on them and keep them at their purpose for several hours on end! He would wear them down and take the fight right out of them. That did more to defuse violence than anything else that could have been done. Why if they really wanted to take on an adult, we had one fearsome teacher that was ready and willing to oblige. As the stories went, sometimes the gamble was if you beat him you got to stay in school, other times that was your ticket out, depending upon whether the principle saw any promise in his staying. Some of our worst young men in the fifties and sixties were gathered up by the Sheriff. Then he, the judge and the Marine or Army recruiter would sit down and work out a career plan for those who loved to fight beyond ordinary!

Yes, by contemporary standards, I may very well sound brutish, but please remember that the underlying premise of English Common Law is that justice be served. Some violent people need to learn early on that those who live by their fists can be hurt by another's fists! All that verse eight is saying is that if someone is truly physically hurt by another person, then they have some claim upon them for lost wages and medication.

Verse twenty is extremely difficult in our day and time, since we do not believe in any involuntary servitude even for people who go on welfare to avoid earning their own way. To put this in the biblical perspective, there is a certain portion of the population that is practically incapable of taking care of themselves and their family. The general principle of being sold into slavery for debts was a limited one. Some people actually did profit from being managed and cared for by another, but even in these difficult economic solutions the slaves had certain inalienable rights given to them by their creator.

So that you don't think I am a complete uncivilized brute, let me go on to explain that the New Covenant informs us that those who will not work, shall not eat. In our contemporary welfare state that New Covenant principle might allow us to require those on welfare to come into some community center and sit on chairs so that at the very least we are getting what we are paying for - nothing! One county in Pennsylvania tried this approach and within a week and a half, welfare as it had been known ceased completely, even though they paid minimum wage and withheld the appropriate taxes for their chair sitting employees. I do believe that the federal wage and retirement regulations prevent a lot of accommodation in traditional means to solve the problem of poverty by denying sharing of room and board for minimal services.

Verse twenty-two is very indicative in our day and age. This principle has even been held up in court several times in the last few years! Verse twenty-three shows us how seriously the life of the unborn was considered.

Verse twenty-six gets into employee relationships at an elementary level. Certainly this verse must be understood in the context of economic bondage, either for training or indebtedness. When America was first settled, very many of our ancestors sold their services for seven years in order to get passage on anything that would float them across the pond. Even the first cargo of Blacks landed in Virginia were accorded the same seven year, bondage before being freed. Only later, was slavery institutionalized in the south much to the discredit of our nation's history.

Verse twenty-eight through thirty-two concerns what we might call manslaughter by animals or in our day, mechanical equipment. If you have ever been around animals, you must have learned that they have personalities of a sort. Some are even just plain mean and vicious. Rogue elephants, tigers and so on are well recorded in history. The prescription against eating those animals is a wise one, since some of them well might have cancerous tumors or other medical conditions which would make their meat unhealthy! Other animals may be dangerous simply because of the purpose for which they are being kept. Bulls, Stallions, Rams and Boars kept for breeding purposes sometimes do not comprehend their privileged status and turn on their owners or even competitors animals.

Within my extended family, at least one relative was gored by a bull and never had much strength afterward. There are and were dangers associated with working with livestock, just as there is with much modern equipment. In many cases, people may by the principle here claim damages. But within reason of course as these verses are trying to preserve. I read of one case where two men picked up a lawn mower to trim the top of a hedge. Since they lost several fingertips during their six-pack adventure, they assumed they could sue the manufacturer for damages. This is one reason why so much equipment has far too much in the way of safety devices on board. One lady I knew bought a brand new riding mower, but she wasn't heavy enough to trigger the switch that was designed to keep children from running the mower!

In verse thirty-three we see that people who create dangerous situations during their work are held accountable for someone or animal that is injured by their negligence. Oh how far and wide we have come this morning in following the simple principles expounded here in this chapter portion of Exodus. Death may be wrongful even if it is not premeditated.

Scripture in another place does allow us to protect ourselves from injury. That principle explains that if someone breaks into your house in the day light, you are charged to flee for you life if you can. Only at night, when you cannot see what the criminal is up to may you kill them after they have broken into your house. In explaining this point of law, I am sometimes asked what I would do if I found an intruder in my home. Like a lot of responsible adults I do own a weapon and I keep ammunition in a separate place. If necessary I would not hesitate to shoot. However, here in Ohio, if you shoot someone above the waist that is an indication that you intended to kill them. A lot of wounds are below the waist. So in accordance with our civil statutes I have always said that I would aim for the kneecap. However, as I am getting older and my "bifoggie" glasses have hampered my sharpshooting, I would probably shoot about fifteen inches higher than what I aim! When I have those discussions in public with known criminals, that tends to discourage their testing my shooting abilities!

One last thing that we must examine is what our confession says about suicide. Life we must understand is the gracious gift of our Creator. What He has given, only by His allowance may it be taken away. Suicide is very definitely a form of murder and as the New Covenant explains, no murderer will enter into the kingdom of heaven. Modern psychology tries to make the survivors feel guilty for not preventing those who commit this cowardly crime! Yes, by all means, if we are able, we should try to keep others from taking a short cut straight to hell, but let us be circumspect and not allow them to endanger our own lives if they are so craven about that desperate desire.

Of course, there is a lot more that might be said in regards to this sixth commandment, we have only touched the surface of allowable jurisprudence. Several countries have reached a point whereby they have been able to suspend the death sentence. The Lord our God may well allow this to happen in some places, but it does not seem to be a universal opportunity. And even some places where the death penalty has been suspended, when times have changed that penalty must by necessity be restored! May we as we are enabled by the Holy Spirit avoid the spilling of human blood and further than that, in the spirit of Christ's teaching let us love one another and hate not our enemies. Because hate is the same as murder, and this commandment will find us all guilty if we would study it. Thanks be to God our Father, that Jesus Christ died in our place so that we might have life eternal in Him.

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